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Sneak Peek: Tarte Magic Star Collector's Set Photos & Swatches

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector’s Set ($49.00 for 1.23 oz.) is a new, limited edition holiday palette that includes four cheek colors, two lip colors, eyeliner, mascara, and 25 eyeshadows.

First Impressions

I saw little that was promising in the set as several of the mattes had dry, stiff consistencies that required product to be scraped off to transfer any coverage to my arm to show a swatch. Other mattes were sheer, not that buildable, and took extra effort to blend out. The shimmers were decent but some were dry to the touch and often applied unevenly, lifted as I blended them, or otherwise lost intensity on the lid. They were all prone to fading faster than the average eyeshadow from the few I wore for testing longevity. There’s a good chance this palette gets pushed to the bottom of my priority list, but I’ve been keeping up fairly well with the holiday releases so there may still be a full, in-depth review in the future.

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

Tarte Magic Star Holiday 2017 Collector's Set

31 Comments

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Susan Avatar

Looks terrible. Thank you for the sneak peek and yeah, I wouldn’t waste time on a full review when there’s so much else out there.

Honestly, Christine, you have saved me so much $$$ in the last few months! Thank you.

Deborah S. Avatar

I rather expected this to be poor performing and the colors are the same or similar to what Tarte puts out all of the time. I also hate the packaging on these types of palettes because they just don’t lend themselves to travel. Thank you for the sneak peak but definitely agree that you shouldn’t waste your time testing this, unless you run out of things to do and have extra time, LOL !!!

Zoe Avatar

I have a Holiday palette from Tarte a few years ago and am still boggled how the quality from them now is all over the map. Mine are buttery and pigmented. What happened!?

Jess Avatar

Just going by the theme, I am pretty sure someone didn’t spellcheck. I think they meant desert, like the landscape and not dessert like the cake. Oh well, it does not look so hot to me.

Mariella Avatar

I wonder to what extent these large holiday palettes (not just from Tarte but a few other companies as well) are aimed at people (parents, aunts and uncles, etc.) buying for younger family members or friends who are fairly new to makeup. The pricing and the large volume of product for a good price make them appealing to give as gifts to those who love makeup and many of these people mightn’t be aware about quality issues or be aware of a blog like Temptalia where you can check out stuff like this. So these sell well because they look like they will make an excellent gift for someone on their gift-list. Might explain why companies who can do better and (you would think) should know better keep churning out stuff like this around the holidays.

beautybine Avatar

I knew you wouldn’t like this one! ? I actually was super pleased with it! Yes some shades are duds (like the dark purples) but I looove the face products and shadows that might not swatch that well (like fringe), I absolutely loved on my lids. For this price tag, you’re getting a great amount of products imo. My shadow lasted through a cardio workout and my eyeliner was still in my water line after showering. ? I even have a video applying the products on my instagram.

LilyM Avatar

Great review, as always! If you’re taking suggestions, I would love to hear your thoughts on the melt cosmetics eyeshadow stacks- they’re reasonably pricey so it would be super valuable to hear your thoughts and to see comparison swatches/dupes! <3

Shawne Avatar

I saw this in Ulta the other day–I was so excited to finally see it and swatch it in person..,man was I disappointed!! I had the same experience as you did Christine, with the colors being too dry to swatch! Not to mention it smelled like chemicals…so I checked the box and yup, this one was made in China. Out of the two holiday palettes from Tarte I definitely prefer the Treasure Box collectors set at Sephora; the shadows were softer and it has the traditional Tarte smell of vanilla.

Betty Valls Avatar

I like only two items from this whole set: the Indulgence eye shadow and the Castle lip color. I would get dupes if they are not available as single purchases, the rest does not appeal to me.

thirteenthirteen Avatar

welp, doesn’t look great, but I want a dupe for Indulgence anyway. Any recommendations? (I do have Laura Mercier African Violet in a palette, maybe that’s close enough….)

Vanessa Avatar

Got it and the lip paint doe foot applicator was covered in mold!!! So gross, back it goes 🙁 The shadows were as disappointing as you said too, should’ve just listened from the start

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